Hoskins due back in Missouri Supreme Court for contempt proceedings Thursday afternoon
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Supreme Court wants Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and the group he's battling with over a congressional map to appear in court at 2 p.m. Thursday.
That's after the court had earlier heard arguments from Hoskins and Chuck Hatfield, lawyer for People Not Politicians, over whether Hoskins should be held in contempt in the legal fight over a Republican-friendly congressional map from 2025 and whether it will be used in the November election.
The Missouri Supreme Court had ordered Hoskins to appear by 10 a.m. Thursday to defend himself against People Not Politicians' claims that he is in contempt of court for using the 2025 map despite being ordered to use the 2022 map.
Just before that hearing, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a lower court's order requiring the state to use a 2025 congressional map meant to gain an extra Republican seat in the House.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh granted a stay of the order issued earlier this week, according to a Supreme Court docket entry. The stay is granted while the case goes through the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who represents Hoskins, filed a motion with the Eastern District Court to prevent the Missouri Supreme Court from finding Hoskins in contempt. Federal Eastern District of Missouri Judge Stephen Clark said Wednesday that he would not block Hoskins' contempt hearing.
Clark granted a temporary restraining order Tuesday to Hoskins in a lawsuit brought by candidates, preventing Hoskins from using any map except for the "Missouri First" map for the November election. Clark ruled that the primary election is integral to the voting process and that switching maps before the general election would cancel primary votes.
The Missouri General Assembly sent a letter to Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Powell Wednesday night asking the court not to take further action until "guidance is received from a higher court." Members of the General Assembly have threatened impeachment proceedings against the justices if Hoskins is held in contempt.
On Wednesday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals turned down People Not Politicians' appeal to overrule a federal district judge's decision ordering Missouri officials to use the 2025 map in the November election.
A spokesperson for People Not Politicians said about an hour later that they had submitted an appeal of that decision to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
As of Thursday morning, Hoskins and Rep. Bob Onder both filed their response in the United States Supreme Court case. A brief amicus curiae was also filed by the Department of Justice in support of denying the stay requested by People Not Politicians.
The 2025 map, known as the "Missouri First" or "H.B. 1," broke up the Democrat-friendly Fifth District in Kansas City, spreading its population among three districts that take in large chunks of rural territory. The move transforms the Fifth District into a likely Republican seat, changing Missouri's map from 6-2 in favor of Republicans to 7-1.
The Republican-dominated Missouri General Assembly approved the map in 2025, but legal challenges were immediately filed to revert to the 6-2 map created after the 2020 census.
